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Peter Towndrow, an elderly man from Cardiff, died after waiting over 14 hours for an ambulance that never appeared, his wife has revealed. Despite calling for an ambulance at 06:00 GMT on 5 December, Towndrow was not taken to the hospital until his son drove him there around 21:00. After being diagnosed with sepsis, Towndrow’s condition worsened, leading to his death on 7 December. Liam Williams, representing the Welsh Ambulance Service, said that ambulance delays were caused by broader system-wide pressures.
Towndrow suffered from kidney failure, requiring twice-weekly dialysis, but his condition deteriorated over the summer. On 4 December, he began experiencing extreme leg pain that prevented him from sleeping in his bed. His wife, Caroline, called NHS Direct, who recommended contacting an out-of-hours GP and requesting an ambulance, which arrived over 14 hours later. Unfortunately, the hospital was not ready to receive Towndrow as he had not arrived in an ambulance, causing additional delays.
Towndrow’s situation continued to deteriorate, and he received his regular dialysis the next day, by which point his condition had become critical. Despite his poor health, the long wait for hospital admission was not the way that Towndrow’s wife had expected him to pass away. In response to the incident, Williams expressed his condolences to the Towndrow family while also suggesting that hospital handover delays contributed to poor ambulance service response times.
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board did not comment on Towndrow’s case, but it has expressed its sympathies to the Towndrow family. Towndrow and his wife met 30 years ago in Cardiff and had two children, as well as a variety of pets, including cats, dogs, and a sparrow. During summers, he would go to Cornwall with his son to work on and drive old motors. Towndrow’s death was a tragedy that highlights the need for governments to focus on ensuring that emergency services are available in a timely manner, even at times of increased demand
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